Player Rankings Question

JIGS

JIGS

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm from Canada and am familar with the following ranking system:
-Pro
-Semi-Pro
-AAA
-AA
-A
-B
-C

I read a lot on here and see alot of questions or answers that refer to player rankings, often times B or A players are mentioned. Can someone shed some light on when you refer to a "B" player where it would rank on the above ranking system? Because I'm not sure my definition of a B player is the same that is mentioned here.

Thanks
 
Some info here http://billiards.colostate.edu/threads/ratings.html#A-D http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=352641 http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=338342&highlight=player+rank http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=331438&highlight=player+rank

C is a player that knows the right stance and has a bit of a stoke but makes a lot of mistakes and lacking in strategy
B is a player that has played for a while, has some knowledge but may be lacking in pocketing and speed control skill to run out all the time
A is a player that has some ability and can run out racks of 9 ball pretty often
going up from there is more pin-point accuracy and overall skill, progressively tougher to tell by anyone not into the game. To a beginner, a B player can seem like a Pro.
 
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They are referring to the same system...but B and A level players are VERY broad categories and difficult to pin down in conversations between folks from different parts of the country. Also, most tend to call a B player "intermediate" and A "advanced"...AA is often synonomous with "semi-pro" and AAA is the top rank. Others like to wedge in "Open" or "short stop" at the AA level or above, and then others like to add/combine BCAPL or APA rankings, which just confuse the issues.

I'd say if you hear B level player on this board, you're talking about a relatively advanced player that can occassionally beat the ghost in 9 ball race to 9, an A player can usually beat the ghost in a race to 9...and beat the 10 ball ghost in races to 5. AA players routinely run multiple 3 packs in competition, and AAA players are your higher end "touring pros", someone like Brandon Shuff or Mike Davis.

So, short answer, it depends on who you're talking to! ;)
 
Then again.. I guess it would depend on where I go and who I play..
 
Just an observation for the OP...you can already tell there is a lot of differences of opinion on this! My "B player" can occassionally beat the ghost, other folks call someone who can occassionally get out in 9 ball a "B player".

I've known a great many C players that shoot very well...not just someone who can point a cue in the general direction of the shot...:cool:
 
ya I'm starting to see a lot of difference of opinions.. its rather interesting... (and confusing)
 
JIGS said:
ya I'm starting to see a lot of difference of opinions.. its rather interesting... (and confusing)
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A "B" player in a small town would more than likely be a "C" player in a larger town. It is kind of like your league handicaps in that if you only have say 20 people in your league your handicap won't be the same as if you were playing in a league of 120 people.
 
JIGS said:
ya I'm starting to see a lot of difference of opinions.. its rather interesting... (and confusing)
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There is really not a lot of differences, the issue is when you start comparing different people against each other. The rankings from the colstate link I posted are indipendtent of any other factors, but are based on regular 9 foot tables. If you can run 1-2 balls with ball in hand, you are a D or low C, that does not matter where you play or who you play. If you can run 5 or so on average, you are a B. If you're in a room full of pros that don't give you a single open shot and you lose to someone 10-0 while making 6 balls the whole set, that does not make you a C or a D if you normally can run 5-6 balls with ball in hand, you're still a B player. It also does not decrease your knowledge just because someone else is better. There are no C players that should run out a rack more than several times a week if they play often with ball in hand, if that. If they do, they are C+ or B level. You can't say "I know C players that shoot good" because that would make them B players. I have run into players that can pocket balls like B players but have the overall knowledge of the game of a low C, I'd say they were C+ or B- players.

Where you are does not matter in the A B C D rank. It may matter in APA rank and such where you are graded on how you do against others in your area. If you go to a strong room as a 7 from a weak room you will lose a lot to other 7s and maybe even to 6s.
 
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eddie0776 said:
A "B" player in a small town would more than likely be a "C" player in a larger town. It is kind of like your league handicaps in that if you only have say 20 people in your league your handicap won't be the same as if you were playing in a league of 120 people.
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Ed, that does not matter where you are. They are not relative rankings, but based on what you can do at the table.

If you look at APA and other handicap ratings that are based on how well you play in matches, that may be true. If you play well against bad players you will end up ranked high, but once you get into a good player room you will not match up well against the top players there.

The rankings for A B C D players are based on their own ability and knowledge, not relative to other players. Basically how well you play the ghost along with some additional knowledge that does not always come out. For example if a player knows about how a cueball behaves based on speed it's hit and english applied, how different speed cloth would play, if he/she can tell if a rail plays "true", I'd give him a bit of a bonus to skill over just how well he/she can pocket a ball.

You can pretty much get a good impression of a player's speed in the first minute of watching him just by how they approach the shot and hit the ball, I bet many of us can say if a player is a D, C or B in the first 15 seconds of watching them. To see if one is past B to A and AA or higher will take a bit more time to see how they play.
 
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hang-the-9 said:
Ed, that does not matter where you are. They are not relative rankings, but based on what you can do at the table.

If you look at APA and other handicap ratings that are based on how well you play in matches, that may be true. If you play well against bad players you will end up ranked high, but once you get into a good player room you will not match up well against the top players there.

The rankings for A B C D players are based on their own ability and knowledge, not relative to other players. Basically how well you play the ghost along with some additional knowledge that does not always come out. For example if a player knows about how a cueball behaves based on speed it's hit and english applied, how different speed cloth would play, if he/she can tell if a rail plays "true", I'd give him a bit of a bonus to skill over just how well he/she can pocket a ball.

You can pretty much get a good impression of a player's speed in the first minute of watching him just by how they approach the shot and hit the ball, I bet many of us can say if a player is a D, C or B in the first 15 seconds of watching them. To see if one is past B to A and AA or higher will take a bit more time to see how they play.
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That is true but too many people try to relate the APA/BCA ratings to A,B,C,D ratings. In the BCA I am a mid 9 but so is Shawn Putnam. I play under Shawns speed yet when I play tourneys where they use the league handicaps as the rankings I am ranked the same as him. That is the point I am making with it. In reality I am a lower A player.
 
eddie0776 said:
That is true but too many people try to relate the APA/BCA ratings to A,B,C,D ratings. In the BCA I am a mid 9 but so is Shawn Putnam. I play under Shawns speed yet when I play tourneys where they use the league handicaps as the rankings I am ranked the same as him. That is the point I am making with it. In reality I am a lower A player.
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Yea, those league ratings are tough to nail down once you're past even B+ level. Especially APA. In the USAPL they go from 30-125 so you can have a low A be a 100 -110 but still have the 125 rating for the top players. Where in the APA you can have 3 people be ranked as 7 or 9 but one is a B+, another is an A and another a AAA.
 
hang-the-9 said:
Yea, those league ratings are tough to nail down once you're past even B+ level. Especially APA. In the USAPL they go from 30-125 so you can have a low A be a 100 -110 but still have the 125 rating for the top players. Where in the APA you can have 3 people be ranked as 7 or 9 but one is a B+, another is an A and another a AAA.
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That is why I hate using those league ratings. There are other 9s in my league I can spot the 7 playing 9 ball and others that play me even. We used to have B C tourneys but they were always left up to the TD's choice of who was really a B player and who wasn't. I had a guy play me the night before the tourney and beat me even, yet he was allowed to play the tourney and I wasn't. That is why it is hard to nail down what speed someone plays. Unless you see someone do the challenges from Dr Dave and know that they are playing their full speed it is hard to know how they really play.
 
hang-the-9 said:
Ed, that does not matter where you are. They are not relative rankings, but based on what you can do at the table.
.
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The problem is that there are areas all across North America that have letter rankings like the OP that don't match up with the link that you've put down.

For example, there's a gentleman in my area that told me his ranking in Toronto is AA. Well, he'd have a hard time beating me. And I'm not in the same zip code as a AA player. I'm sure he'd have his butt all hurt, but he's a C player on average a B player on his best day. But, AA is where he thinks he is.
 
Cornerman said:
The problem is that there are areas all across North America that have letter rankings like the OP that don't match up with the link that you've put down.

For example, there's a gentleman in my area that told me his ranking in Toronto is AA. Well, he'd have a hard time beating me. And I'm not in the same zip code as a AA player. I'm sure he'd have his butt all hurt, but he's a C player on average a B player on his best day. But, AA is where he thinks he is.
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Hang is talking about the Dr Dave tests.
 
Cornerman said:
The problem is that there are areas all across North America that have letter rankings like the OP that don't match up with the link that you've put down.

For example, there's a gentleman in my area that told me his ranking in Toronto is AA. Well, he'd have a hard time beating me. And I'm not in the same zip code as a AA player. I'm sure he'd have his butt all hurt, but he's a C player on average a B player on his best day. But, AA is where he thinks he is.
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Maybe he meant that he was given a rank in this AA http://www.aa.org/

There was a guy in a RI pool room I went to (closed a few years now) that told the manager he was in one of the top 10 players in RI. He was about a C+ player. He was not even in the top 10 players in that room.

I've always used the D though A rankings as absolutes, not relative to the other players. I think much of the discussion about those rankings stems from the fact that people look at them as relative.
 
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